Around the Nation
2:07 am
Thu July 5, 2012

'Black Eden,' The Town That Segregation Built

Credit Robert Abbott Sengstacke / Getty Images
The Idlewild Club House, Idlewild, Mich., September 1938.

Originally published on Thu July 5, 2012 9:25 pm

Sometimes history is made in the most unlikely of places.

This summer, the community of Idlewild, Mich., once known as America's "Black Eden," is celebrating its centennial — and its place in American history.

Located about 30 miles east of the larger resort city of Ludington, tucked away in the woods of the Huron-Manistee National Forests, the town was once a go-to spot for summer vacations. It was a resort unlike any other in the United States, however, and was, in essence, the town that segregation built.

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Planet Money
2:06 am
Thu July 5, 2012

The Farmer And The Commerce Clause

Credit Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
The U.S. Supreme Court, 70 years after rejecting Roscoe Filburn's bid to limit the federal government's power to regulate commerce.

Originally published on Thu July 5, 2012 9:25 pm

Last week's Supreme Court ruling on the health care law might have made Roscoe Filburn a little happier.

Filburn was an Ohio dairy farmer who had a beef with the federal government, one he took to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1942. He lost.

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Politics
2:05 am
Thu July 5, 2012

Ohio Senator Vulnerable For Health Law Support

Credit Mark Duncan / AP
Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown speaks in Columbus, Ohio, in May. Brown, who is up for re-election this year, says he wakes up every day "trying to figure out how to create jobs."

Originally published on Thu July 5, 2012 9:25 pm

President Obama hits the campaign trail Thursday with a bus tour in Ohio. The state is a crucial battleground not only for the presidential election, but also because it could decide whether Democrats keep control of the Senate.

Up for re-election there is Democrat Sherrod Brown, who is being challenged by the state's Republican treasurer, Josh Mandel. Mandel is highlighting Brown's staunch support of the new health care law — with a big assist from outside groups.

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Business
3:03 pm
Wed July 4, 2012

Fear Of Fires Fizzles Some July 4 Fireworks Fun

Credit Curt Habraken / AP
Susan Underwood prices fireworks, while her husband Michael (left) and Clint Simmons pace themselves with a snack and TV last month at their tent along Highway 416 in Sevier County, Tenn. Over in Middle Tennessee, the drought has led city leaders to ban fireworks this year.

Originally published on Wed July 4, 2012 3:59 pm

Freddie Bowers and his dad, Larry, have sold fireworks in LaVergne, Tenn., for a lifetime. But, the sparklers are off limits this year since the region has had the hottest streak in recorded history and several small fires in the area have been blamed on fireworks.

For people in the fireworks business, Christmas usually comes in July. Only this year, three-quarters of the country are experiencing some level of drought and from the Mountain West to the Southeast, cities are temporarily banning fireworks.

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Music
3:03 pm
Wed July 4, 2012

Aboriginal Musicians 'Band' Together To Expose Oppression

Originally published on Wed July 4, 2012 5:34 pm

A black arm band is a gesture of mourning around the world. But for aboriginals in Australia it has come to mean something else.

The "black arm band view of history" is a version of history that takes a critical — some would say militant — analysis of Anglo-Australia's mistreatment of indigenous people. Much like American Indians, indigenous Australians — who've lived on their continent for at least 40,000 years — have had their land stolen, treaties broken, and children taken away.

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Business
2:37 pm
Wed July 4, 2012

Ex-CEO: Barclays Isn't The Only Bank At Fault

Credit Matthew Lloyd / Getty Images
Former Barclays CEO Bob Diamond leaves Parliament amid a crowd of reporters in London on Wednesday. Diamond, who resigned Tuesday, was questioned about a growing interest-rate manipulation scandal.

Originally published on Wed July 4, 2012 4:34 pm

The fallen leader of Barclays Bank got on the hot seat before members of the British Parliament on Wednesday. Robert Diamond, an American, resigned Tuesday as CEO of the bank — the latest executive to lose his job over an interest-rate manipulation scandal.

The scandal has not only consumed Barclays, it also threatens to engulf other international banks — and high-ranking government officials, too.

Diamond started his career at Barclays on Independence Day, exactly 16 years ago. On Wednesday in London, he set off some fireworks all his own.

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Sports
2:01 pm
Wed July 4, 2012

Baseball's Teen Phenom Steals Home, And Hearts

Originally published on Wed July 4, 2012 3:03 pm

Bryce Harper was 16 when he appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated, pictured swinging a bat in the desert and declared "Baseball's Chosen One."

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Books
1:53 pm
Wed July 4, 2012

The 5 Best Book Stories You Must Read This Week

Credit iStockphoto.com

Originally published on Wed July 4, 2012 5:15 pm

If you're like me, you probably have stacks of books sitting around your home waiting to be cracked open.

Despite my apartment's messy milieu, the piles are actually carefully curated in the order of what I plan to tackle next. Of course, the stacks tend to grow faster than I can read, but no matter.

Here are this week's five best stories from NPR Books. They'll grow your piles, but I promise, these books are worth it.

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Middle East
12:55 pm
Wed July 4, 2012

Medical Marijuana Use Sprouting In Israel

Originally published on Sun July 8, 2012 7:33 am

Israel has become a world leader in the use of medical marijuana. More than 10,000 patients have received government licenses to consume the drug to treat ailments such as cancer and chronic pain.

But while the unorthodox treatment has gained acceptance in Israel, it still has its critics.

Susan Malkah breathes in the cloud of smoke from a plastic inhaler especially formulated for medical marijuana use. She has a number of serious ailments and is confined to a wheelchair.

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World Cafe
12:45 pm
Wed July 4, 2012

Neil Young On World Cafe

Credit Danny Clinch
Neil Young.

Neil Young's dozens of albums and myriad side projects showcase his incredible range and stylistic flexibility. His music has gone from the soft folk of Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young to the loud, raucous rock of Crazy Horse.

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